Repairs are an essential part of the eyewear experience and the work of eye care professionals. However, sometimes customers will take it upon themselves to fix their eyewear and get creative with solutions. Invision Magazine recently published a gallery of eyewear "hacks" opticians have encountered that were posted on the Opticians of Facebook group. While these eyewear hacks are amusing, they can also be indications of broader problems a customer is experiencing – and thus an opportunity to offer a product to help. Here are some possible solutions to these eyewear hacks:

Mummy Frames

The poster of these tape-covered frames said the customer who wore them experienced an allergic reaction to the plastic they were made of. A straightforward solution to a customer who comes in with this type of fix would be to offer frames in an hypoallergenic material. Titanium and ultem are relatively common eyewear materials that will not cause allergic reactions when worn. Stetson's Titanium collection, for example, is all hypoallergenic.

Twig Temple

A broken temple is a very common repair issue, and this customer managed to find a twig with their exact temple measurement to continue wearing their frames. While a customer who comes to you with this solution should be applauded for their resourcefulness, it's worth asking why their temple broke in the first place. Did their frames fall off while exercising? Did they move their head too quickly and they flew off? It's possible that the customer's frames were not fitted properly for their head size. Consider offering a frame with a special, smaller fit that won't feel loose. Zyloware, for example, provides Petite Fit frames for wearers with smaller pupil distances.

*Sophia Loren BR87 in Lilac is a Petite Fit*

"See the Rainbow"

Stephanie Morrison posted these frames with colorful papier-mâché additions and remarked that, though they're very creative, they're unlikely to fulfill a warranty if they break. If a customer comes to you with these kinds of aesthetic customizations, tell them you offer a variety of brands that already have bold coloring. Leon Max, Via Spiga and Randy Jackson all feature frames with eye-catching and on-trend colors and shapes.

Creative Selling: What to Say to These Eyewear Hacks

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